[Gaciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju] [Level 8 WATER]
[Aqua / Effect] [ATK: 2200 / DEF: 3000]
Revealed at last through the fog, the colossal sea turtle materialized on Amano's field with a rumbling growl, still working through whatever remained of Star Chalice Divine Child Eve.
That was genuinely impressive.
This was one of Yu-Gi-Oh's most well-known tactics: send your opponent a powerful monster as a gift.
And it really was powerful. Gaciel's stats in both attack and defense surpassed Eve's Synchro form by a clear margin. That 3000 DEF alone was enough to wall out even Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Amano placed the card Kuroshio Nagi had tossed him onto the Duel Disk and imdiately triggered the response.
"You Tributed Star Chalice Divine Child Eve to summon Gaciel. But Eve can still activate her effect from the Graveyard."
[When this card is sent to the Graveyard while Synchro Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 "Star Chalice" monster from your deck or Graveyard, except "Star Chalice Divine Child Eve."]
The card ejected from the Graveyard slot. Amano caught it and placed it horizontally on the Duel Disk.
"I Special Summon Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice in Defense Position!"
[Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice] [DEF: 2100]
Priestess returned in her original form: a slight, delicate figure, visibly soaked and coated in sothing viscous that dripped from her in slow, mysterious drops.
Eve looked at the sea turtle looming beside her with obvious revulsion. "I cannot believe I was inside that thing's mouth. That was disgusting."
"A monster worthy of my favorite strear. She really holds up even after being chewed on."
Kuroshio Nagi was already feeding cards into the Duel Disk.
It was only now that Amano noticed the Duel Disk itself. It matched her outfit completely: a black base buried under clusters of pink charm stickers and decorative accessories.
"I activate the effect of Alpha, the Master of Beasts from my hand."
[This card cannot be Normal Summoned. If the total ATK of all monsters your opponent controls is higher than the total ATK of all monsters you control, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.]
"The total ATK on your field is 2200, Amano Rei, and mine is zero, so I can Special Summon Alpha, the Master of Beasts!"
"Roar for , sovereign of all beasts, lord of the earth! Tear apart whatever stands before ! Alpha, the Master of Beasts!"
[Alpha, the Master of Beasts] [Level 8 EARTH]
[Beast / Special Summon / Effect]
[ATK: 3000 / DEF: 2500]
A monstrous, regal beast with a crimson mane bristling with spines erupted from the fog, throwing back its head in a roar that reverberated through the surrounding mist.
Amano's brow furrowed slightly. "A monster on par with Blue-Eyes White Dragon in both attack and defense, Special Summoned that easily."
He was beginning to understand how Kuroshio Nagi had climbed to her current ranking as a second-year student. Deck building aside, her individual card quality was overwhelming. The deck operated on raw power, a philosophy that derived a certain kind of beauty from pure stat values.
"And one more card."
Kuroshio Nagi slotted a Spell Card into the Duel Disk.
"Spell Card: Owner's Seal!"
[Owner's Seal] [Spell Card: Return all monsters on the field to their original owners' control.]
Even though Kuroshio Nagi had sent Gaciel onto Amano's field, the card's original owner under the rules was still her.
"Co back to , Gaciel!"
Kuroshio Nagi crooked one finger toward the fog. The sea turtle let out a low, irritated rumble and turned, plodding back across the field one heavy step at a ti.
"Now I can move into the Battle Phase. First: Gaciel, destroy my favorite strear's Defense Position monster!"
Gaciel's 2200 ATK cleared Priestess's 2100 DEF by exactly 100 points.
Eve's eyes went wide. "Not again!"
Still coated from the last ti, Priestess had not even had a chance to wipe herself off before Gaciel opened its jaws again and lunged.
[Priestess Who Receives the Star Chalice: Destroyed]
Consud again. Whatever remained of Priestess this ti was presumably digested completely.
"And now your field is empty, Amano Rei."
The Battle Phase continued. Alpha raised its head from the fog and let out a sound that drew several instinctive steps back from everyone in the vicinity.
"Alpha, the Master of Beasts! Direct attack!"
"Caesar's Razor Claw!!"
Alpha's ATK was 3000. Amano's remaining Life Points were 3200.
The attack alone would not finish him.
But this was a Dark Ga.
Dying was off the table, but absorbing 3000 points of direct damage in one hit? His stomach would give out long before his Life Points did.
"Activating my face-down Trap Card!"
Amano flipped one of his set cards.
"Trap Card: Holy Life Barrier!"
[Holy Life Barrier] [Trap Card: Discard 1 card from your hand. During the turn you activate this card, all damage you take is reduced to 0.]
"I discard World Legacy, the Star Shield from my hand! All damage you deal this turn becos zero!"
A gentle, solid barrier of transparent energy crystallized in front of Amano and absorbed the full 3000 of Alpha's strike without so much as flexing.
Kuroshio Nagi grinned. "I knew it. My favorite strear was never going to go down that easily. I set one card face-down. Turn end."
Amano exhaled quietly.
That had been genuinely close. Not in terms of Life Points. In terms of personal dignity.
The 800 Life Points he had paid for Magic Wardrobe had already produced a noticeable complaint from his stomach. If that 3000-point hit had connected in full, the outco at the side of a public road in the middle of the morning would have been actively humiliating. Even if the duel had not technically ended, a duelist's reputation would never fully recover from sothing like that.
This Dark Ga was more genuinely dangerous than most people would assu.
"Amano?"
A familiar voice reached through the fog from outside.
"Class rep?" Amano placed it imdiately. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Nanki'in Sakuya's voice grew closer, her figure resolving through the mist as she approached. "I might ask you the sa question. Why are you dueling right next to the school gate first thing in the morning?"
"Wait, what? The school gate?" Amano's composure cracked.
The enveloping fog of the Dark Ga had completely obscured his sense of where he was. He had not realized the alley he chased Kuroshio Nagi out of opened up this close to Synchro Academy.
Morning drills were about to begin. Students were already beginning to gather at the gate, and without exception every one of them had now noticed the fog-wrapped duel in progress nearby.
Beyond Sakuya, a sizable portion of Class 1-E had also spotted their dueling committee representative.
"Committee rep, you are boldly conducting an unsanctioned duel right at the school gate. That is a clear violation of academy regulations!"
"Is this what they call flouting authority?"
"Genuinely rebellious. I expected nothing less from you."
Amano felt a bead of cold sweat trace down the side of his face.
The less he wanted to be noticed, the more the crowd grew.
He now had an absolute, non-negotiable reason not to lose.
"My turn. Draw!"
The Graveyard slot on his Duel Disk shimred with the light of star-forged tal.
The Holy Life Barrier he had activated last turn had served a dual purpose. Beyond preventing the catastrophic 3000-point hit, it had also been a vehicle for sending World Legacy, the Star Shield to the Graveyard. And with World Legacy, the Star already resting there, the setup was complete.
[When this card is in the Graveyard: During your or your opponent's Standby Phase, you can pay 1000 LP to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard. Your opponent can then Special Summon 1 monster from their hand or Graveyard.]
"I pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon World Legacy, the Star from my Graveyard!"
[World Legacy - "Star"] [Level 6 DARK]
[Machine / Effect]
[ATK: 0 / DEF: 3000]
Amano LP: 3200 to 2200
A colossal star-forged shield materialized across Amano's field, its presence anchored and reassuring.
Sakuya's voice carried a note of concern. "That is a DEF wall that can stop Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But Amano, why do you look like you are in pain?"
Pain was an understatent. Every Life Point reduction in a Dark Ga sent an imdiate signal straight to his stomach, and the 1000-point cost he had just paid made the situation considerably more uncomfortable.
Kuroshio Nagi's Dark Ga feedback was operating at full fidelity. This needed to end quickly.
Kuroshio Nagi selected from her hand. "World Legacy, the Star's effect ans I can also Special Summon a monster from my hand. Co out, Behemoth the King of All Animals!"
[Behemoth the King of All Animals] [Level 10 EARTH]
[Beast / Effect]
[ATK: 2700 / DEF: 1500]
A proud and imnse beast materialized through the fog, surveying the gathered onlookers from above.
The Star's DEF held the field, but Kuroshio Nagi's three oversized monsters created a wall of pressure that was considerably more intimidating in the opposite direction.
"And my Normal Summon for this turn!"
Amano placed the next card beside World Legacy, the Star on the Duel Disk. Nanki'in Sakuya's composed expression broke: she stared, eyes widening.
"Tuner Monster: Shiranui Spiritblade!"
[Shiranui Spiritblade] [Level 2 FIRE]
[Zombie / Tuner / Effect]
[ATK: 800 / DEF: 0]
A blade carrying the spirit of a warrior, burning with undying fla, materialized and floated above the field.
Sakuya's voice had lost its steadiness. "Why do you have that card?"
The Shiranui archetype was the Nanki'in family's hereditary deck. Shiranui Spiritblade was the archetype's most essential Tuner card, the soul of the entire strategy. Even Sakuya herself had only obtained the right to wield it after passing the family's formal trials.
How did Amano Rei have a copy?
Amano could hardly explain the actual answer. Telling Nanki'in Sakuya that the card ca from a skill he had unlocked by building up her affection rating was not a conversation he intended to have.
Sakuya's affection at 80 had unlocked the skill: Inheritor of the Shiranui Style.
[Unlocks all Zombie-type Synchro Monsters in the Extra Deck. At the start of a duel, you may add up to 3 copies of Shiranui Spiritblade to your Main Deck.]
With dedicated Tuner cards a persistent gap in Amano's deck, naturally he activated the skill before every duel and added Shiranui Spiritblade to the list.
Beyond its classic Graveyard Synchro effect, Shiranui Spiritblade was also a standard Level 2 Tuner, which was exactly what this mont required.
The scattered light of Amano's field ca together in a Synchro trail, burning through the surrounding fog.
"I tune Level 2 Tuner Shiranui Spiritblade with Level 6 World Legacy, the Star!"
Blade and shield, Synchro Summoned together.
Shiranui Spiritblade ignited into the twin rings of a Synchro circle and drove straight through the face of the massive forged-star shield.
Level 2 plus Level 6 equals Level 8.
The Synchro fire scattered the fog in broad arcs, carving a trajectory through the sky that traced the outline of a devil's dragon, and the gathered light converged at Amano's fingertip.
Blade and shield as the catalysts. The monster born from them had nothing to do with either.
That was the nature of Synchro: as long as the Levels matched, the stars could awaken any miracle.
"The king's roar shall shake the heavens! Engrave this absolute sovereign power upon your soul!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 8!"
"Burning soul!"
"Red Dragon Archfiend, Right Red Mark!!"
[Red Dragon Archfiend / Right Red Mark] [Level 8 DARK]
[Dragon / Synchro / Effect]
[ATK: 3000 / DEF: 2500]
[1 Tuner 1 or more non-Tuner monsters]
"ROAR!!"
The Red Dragon Archfiend burst through the Synchro pillar of fla, its scarred right arm and broken horn burning with the unyielding fire of a king who refused to fall.
Kuroshio Nagi's excitent was written across her entire face: "That monster! That is the Synchro Monster from the video against Kaiba Chiha, the one that ca back from behind and flipped Galaxy upside down!"
She had rewatched that video dozens of tis in private. This mont was engraved in her mory.
But also familiar in another way.
When it had appeared against Kaiba Chiha, the field had looked exactly like this: three opposing monsters.
Kuroshio Nagi suddenly placed what was happening. Her hand flew to her mouth.
"Am I accidentally recreating one of my favorite strear's signature monts? This is incredible! I'm the one about to get hit, but sohow this is still incredible!"
Her words had beco almost incoherent, and the one visible eye was filling up with small pink stars.
Amano flung the burning card down onto the Duel Disk: "Red Dragon Archfiend, Right Red Mark, effect activates!"
[Once per turn, during your Main Phase: Destroy all Special Summoned Effect Monsters on the field with ATK equal to or less than this card's ATK. Then, inflict 500 damage for each monster destroyed by this effect.]
Red Dragon Archfiend drew the fla into its scarred right claw and drove it into the fog-covered ground.
"Supre Authority Fla!!"
Every monster on Kuroshio Nagi's field, including Alpha, the Master of Beasts at its peak 3000 ATK, fell within Red Dragon Archfiend's destruction threshold.
[Alpha, the Master of Beasts: Destroyed]
[Behemoth the King of All Animals: Destroyed]
[Gaciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju: Destroyed]
"And for each monster destroyed by this effect, you take 500 points of damage!"
The inferno consud all three monsters and kept moving, washing over Kuroshio Nagi's side of the field and scorching the delinquent girl's slender fra.
Kuroshio Nagi LP: 4000 to 2500
One mont ago she had been bristling with excitent. In the next, Kuroshio Nagi rembered where she was: inside a Dark Ga. A Dark Ga she herself had started.
"Ngh, wait! It hurts! It actually hurts!"
She doubled over, both hands pressed to her midsection.
The Dark Ga's punishnt was working exactly as advertised, back-feeding on the person who had opened it.
If she had a stomach incident in front of her favorite strear on a public road...
There were things worse than losing a duel, and that was one of them.
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